It is tough to find a 3 bedroom home on the mid-Peninsula in the mid-$600's. They are far and few between. Prices went up in Q3 and have remained up. Generally we see prices drop in Q4 so keep your search going and keep working with an agent who might have a lead on something that is coming to market and can often get you in to see it early. We aren't seeing many foreclosures any more mostly short sales. We hear, as do you, I'm sure, that the banks are holding them off the market. If you are willing to buy a townhouse you can often find something in the mid-$600's in Foster City. Foster City has great schools. It appears that you work there as well. My suggestion is to be open to what you look at, and consider townhouses. You own the land, but it's a row house. You do get more for your dollar with them.

Annette,

Thanks for the clarification. Yes, the areas we were looking at were limited to HMB and Pacifica (Linda Mar). We really like El Granada and Moss Beach (and Princeton by the Sea), but the extra distance makes the commute to Foster City a bit too long.

-H

Hawkeye-

Very observant - I do want to make sure we are talking about same areas. Are you speaking of Pacifica....? Pacifica is a completely different market in my professional opinion - with different dynamics affecting it. I was referring specifically of the Coastal Communities including Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Montara, Moss Beach. Just want to be clear on our reference points.

Of course - we still have plenty of unrealistic sellers - in every market - if the list to sale is a 20% - 25% difference - someone was off base in the intial pricing.

I've sold several homes in the $600,000 price range recently - in good condition and some with ocean views, available on my website of if you would like specifics contact me directly.

Thanks

Annette Merriman http://www.AnnetteMerriman.com

Annette makes a great point, the ongoing pricing correction over on the coast has brought prices down considerably and there are some good options at your price point. Be careful though, as this area is still correcting downward. There's relatively large gap between list and sale price and days on the market are relatively high (indicating that folks are "stuck" on their unrealistically high price points).

Three weeks ago we were touring homes in Linda Mar and a handful of very similar 3b/2b homes were priced in the mid 700's; however, all the comps for similar models were in th low to mid 600's. A $100K disconnect between list and sales price indicates some pretty strong pressure for downward pricing. The ratio has been pretty constant, as list prices drifted downward from the $900's to the $800's and now to the $700's. As they drifted down, the gap remained basically the same (~ $100k difference from list to sale price). Once the gap begins to close, that might be a good sign that the correction is stabilizing.

-H

Hello,

You ask a good question that I hear all of the time. I work both here on the coast in the communities including Half Moon Bay, El Granada, Montara and Moss Beach as well as San Francisco.

The answer is yes - there are homes in the $600,000 price range that have good schools. You will need some help navigating both the homes, areas and the school scores.

Here on the coast we have great schools that are plauged by scores that are skewed because of our proportion of non english speaking youngsters that enter into our school system. While these individuals struggle to learn english they pull down the scores of our good schools. I have many clients that are in our school system that are thrilled and happy to have such a diverse community to live in.

Consider the Coast as an alternative - go and visit the Cunha School System - you will be impressed by the schools and what you can afford in this vacation like community right on the Ocean.

http://www.cabrillo.k12.ca.us/cunha/index.html

Best -

Annette Merriman http://www.AnnetteMerriman.com

Sfhomebuyer,

Netrealty is correct, it's very tough to find 3 bedroom properties that are in a good area and a good school district. And shame on Denise and Chris, whose responses below offered absolutely nothing of value other than a solitication for your business. Trulia is becoming like a used car salesperson's lot, where every question is answered by a sales pitch.

I'm also shopping on the Peninsula and have found the Redfin.com website to be excellent for searching on properties. Go to Redfin.com, which has almost all the information any realtor can provide to you, except that it's FREE and there are no strings attached. Their search engine even includes short sales and foreclosures.

You can also buy your house through them and they'll rebate a percentage of the purchase price back to you in a big fat check (or credit to closing costs). Redfin uses licensed real estate agents, but instead of paying them a commission, they get a base salary and a bonus that is calculated based on how satisfied you are with their services; their motivation is customer service, not jacking up the price to get a bigger sales commission.

They also have an outstanding forum, where Realtors are not allowed to post sales pitches or solicitations. As a result, you get solid information rather than a bunch of used car salespeople telling you to go to their website or contact them (but otherwise offering nothing useful in their post).

I have no affiliation with the real estate industry or Redfin. I'm a first time buyer and have found that of all the sites, Redfin is the most useful and the only one that you can actually use to make the purchase (and get a rebate).

There are no 3/1's in a good school district for 600k. The entry level point is closer to 900k for something small or a fixer. 600k will get you a 2/2 condo at best.

Dear SF Homebuyer

There are many opportunities in the Peninsula at this time. Of course you can find a home now, especially, that is a 3 bedroom in a good school district. Visit my website at http:///www.deniselaugesenteam.com and we will get you set up to see all of the homes. There are some great buys this time of the year.
Good Luck
denise laugesen
#1 Producing Agent
650-465-5742
Cashin Company
Direct Line: 650-403-6225
Email: deniselaugesen@comcast.net
Web: http://www.deniselaugesenteam.com

You need to partner with a Realtor to

If you do not already have one I highly recommend you contact a Realtor to partner with and create a buying strategy and narrow your search which will save you time and money.

I have some contacts in that area, please let me know if you would like names.
Sincerely,

Chris Capps, Realtor
Residential Real Estate Specialist

cell 804.896.6945
office 804.740.1644 ext. 103
fax 804.545.7224
email chriscapps@oakstoneproperties.com
web http://www.chriscapps.com

“It's Time to Expect More From Your Realtor®”

Licensed in Virginia, with contacts across the country